Sushi Harutaka, a Tokyo sushi-ya that has been recently promoted to 3 Michelin Stars. With the demotion of Sushi Yoshitake, Sushi Harutaka is currently the only 3 Michelin Sushi restaurant in Tokyo.
We’ve visited Harutaka pre covid era when they were still a 2 star establishment & recall a rather pleasant experience. Suffice to say we were hyped this visit.
First course came in the form of baby sea eels (Photo 1) swimming in a Dashi based broth, laid under a layer of fried puffs called Tenkasu. Baby sea eels were akin to soft flat noodles, supple with a delicate bite, flavoured by a deep Dashi stock. Tenkasu brings about a layer of fried fragrance & the dish comes together harmoniously to warm the stomach.
By the end of this dish we noticed customers beside us being served a cold dish before this dish. We took note & deduced that Harutaka might’ve forgotten to serve us the 1st dish as there was only 1 menu for the day & we were the only customers to have missed the 1st cold dish.
Next came boiled octopus (Tako) (Photo 2) which usually showcases the innate flavour of the octopus, served with a side of salt. Texture was good, with a soft, mildly gooey outer membrane followed by a moderately chewy middle. The innate flavour of the octopus is mild & rather uninspiring. A light dash of salt overpowered the already flavour shy octopus instead of highlighting its sweetness.
Puffer Fish (Fugu) (Photo 3) was next, boiled & served alongside some ponzu dip with grated daikon. As fugu on its own has no flavour the dip is of paramount importance. A splash of acidity & saltiness from the shoyu helps dress the firm, chewy fugu decently, daikon helps brings some much needed moisture as well.
Up next is sweet bream (Shiro Amadai) (Photo 4) in a fish broth. This fish is known for its sweet flesh. Texture of the fish is divine! Supple, lightly flakey with a light innate sweetness. The sweetness could’ve been more pronounced to garner more excitement but nonetheless this is a good dish.
Hirame (Photo 5) came next, the Large Tooth Flounder, a fish with mild flavour that shines in its snappy texture. A simple smear of wasabi & a lick of umami soy sauce allows one to savour this fish. The side of seaweed & what we presume to be a very mild form of scallion also adds to the flavour layers of this dish.
Abalone (Photo 6) was next & as expected it has a beautiful texture. Fantastically snappy , lightly rubbery, bathed in a viscous, salt heavy sauce that’s akin to 高汤 in Cantonese cuisine. One has to be careful with this sauce as it could get overbearing if the abalone is fully coated.
Smoked Spanish Mackerel (Photo 7) was perhaps the best appetiser of the day. Intoxicating smokiness assisted by the tangy, salty soy sauce mix, extremely umami roasted seaweed & toasty sesame seeds.
The last appetiser was Shirako (Photo 8), cod milt. Served in a sauce along with some Japanese Chilli powder. Shirako was torched hence the sac carries a umami toasty flavour, followed by its creamy insides that’s flavoured by the sweet, sour & salty sauce. Chilli powder adds some kick & is rather welcomed.
As there are many sushi pieces we’ll only dwell on some highlights as well as some surprising let downs.
The first piece was Sumiika (Photo 9), Japanese spineless cuttlefish which carries a beautifully supple, lightly gooey with a snap-in-the-middle texture. As delightful as the texture of this neta (sushi topping) is this was also the largest disappointment in this meal. The shari(vinegared rice) lacked warmth & hence lacked vinegar kick as well. It was appalling to experience this while served at the counter of a 3 star sushi-ya.
Luckily the shari from the remaining sushi were spot on. Supple, just the right warmth & carries a good vinegar kick that’s saliva inducing.
After the recovery sushi in the form of a Saba (Photo 10) (Blue Mackerel) we were served the bluefin tuna in 3 different cuts. Akami (Photo 11 top) which was rich in iron umami & tender, followed by chutoro (Photo 11 left) (a medium fatty slice) & otoro (Photo 11 right) (a fatty slice). While flavours were good the texture from the chutoro & otoro could really have been better as both slices were a tad sinewy towards the end of the piece. Otoro this time round was also more skimpy on fats despite the looks, it bears a texture & flavour more skin to a chutoro.
The real highlights were possibly the kuruma ebi (Photo 14) (Japanese tiger prawn), known for its sweetness, the uni (Photo 17)(sea urchin) that was rich, creamy & sweet as well as the pasty, umami anago (Photo 18) (saltwater eel).
The meal ended with the tamagoyaki (Photo 19), something we always equate to french flan due to its cake-like nature. Harutaka’s version was more egg heavy in taste, allowing a clear taste of the egg & sweetness.
Overall the experience was pleasant & service was attentive. In all honesty most of the sushi were executed well & carried all their intended tastes & textures bar some hiccup pieces. Harutaka felt exactly as it was when we visited 3 years ago, a really stable 2 Star sushi-ya. Their recent promotion to 3 Stars seems to us to be quite a stretch as it lacks that magical push in ingredient intensity to make this experience truly magical.
On a side note, we did notice a broad drop in ingredient quality in Japan since Covid & perhaps this plays to the extreme detriment to cuisines that rely heavily on the innate flavours of the ingredients.
by The_Gourmet_Plate